The Celery Upgrade Your Tuna Sandwich Deserves

When it comes to making tuna salad, there's more of a technique than you might think. In its simplest form, tuna salad is just a mixture of canned tuna and mayonnaise, but you definitely want to build on the dish's texture and flavor. You can include other creamy elements, like plain Greek yogurt, which will balance out the rich mayonnaise flavor with a little bitterness. And seasonings, including fresh herbs like parsley or dill, as well as dried herbs like garlic or onion powder, are great additions as well.

But since pre-cooked canned tuna is soft, you also want to consider maximizing the texture of this salad. Chopped celery is a common add-on because it adds crunch but is so mild that it doesn't alter the salad's flavor. But to ensure the best tuna, don't forget to upgrade that celery by peeling the strings off of it before you chop it up. This prevents it from being chewy, meaning it integrates even better into the salad.

It's not absolutely necessary to peel your celery; it's perfectly safe to eat as-is. But celery is full of strings, which is where this vegetable stores water, and they can be tough. So, when you bite into them, they don't always fall apart easily, giving the veggie a stringy, unpleasant texture. Instead of chopping the celery with those strings still on, use a vegetable peeler or knife to peel back a few of the layers, which will remove the sturdier strings and make it much easier to eat.

If you don't have a vegetable peeler handy, you can use the more labor-intensive method: Break the celery in half. It will snap, but those tougher strings will likely stay attached. This method helps you see which strings are the biggest problem. Then, you can peel those individually. You might have to break it more than once, but it works. In addition to celery, you can add crunch to that tuna salad sandwich through chopped onions or carrots; Or, for even more texture and flavor, use all three.